7 interesting facts about the University of Calcutta

Calcutta is not just about trams and ‘Mishti Dohi’. It is also one of the most ancient seats of learning. And once such seat is the University of Calcutta which is known in India and abroad for its excellent academic standards.

Here are some facts about the university which show how rich a history it has:

It was ranked as the 43rd top university in Asia by QS Rankings and 2nd in India by India Today in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014.

2. The University of Calcutta has 65 departments divided in faculties which are agriculture; arts; commerce; social welfare & business management; education, journalism and library science; engineering & technology; fine arts, music and home science; law and science.

3. It is also known to be the first institution in Asia to be established as a secular Western-style university with many courses. It was also the first university to establish a women’s college in India, the Bethune College, which was established in 1879.

4 . Out of the 5 Nobel laureates India has had, 3 studied at the University of Calcutta. They are Rabindra Nath Tagore, C. V. Raman and Amartya Sen. Ronald Ross, another Nobel Laureate who was a British national, also studied here. Famous freedom fighter Netaji Subash Chandra Bose is also an alumnus of this institution.

5. The University has also produced 3 presidents of Independent India, along with a vice president, a deputy prime minister and 6 chief justices of the Supreme Court. The current president Pranab Mukherjee and the vice president Hamid Ansari are among the university alumni.

6. It was awarded the status of a ‘five star university’ by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in 2001 and declared as a University with Potential for Excellence by the Indian University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2005.

7. The university has a massive library system with over 1 million books and more than 200,000 bound journals, proceedings, manuscripts, patents etc. This library is considered as one of the biggest Institute Libraries in the World.